Illustrative: “Feces swastikas” smeared on the walls of a bathroom at the University of California, San Diego. Photo: X/Twitter of StopAntisemitism

The Mt. Diablo Unified School District in California has asked a local police department to help it investigate a shocking antisemitic and racist act of vandalism at one of its middle schools, Superintendent Adam Clark confirmed with The Algemeiner.

According to local police, five unidentified male juveniles graffitied about eight swastikas and anti-Black slurs at several locations on the campus of Pleasant Hill Middle School last week, including the school building and its baseball and softball fields.

“This act of vandalism involved the defacement of our school grounds with antisemitic symbols (swastikas) and derogatory racial language (‘N’ word),” Clark said in a statement sent to the community and shared with The Algemeiner.

“We are taking these actions with the utmost seriousness and have promptly reached out to the Pleasant Hill Police Department to assist in this matter. The safety and well-being of our students and staff remain our foremost concern, and we unequivocally condemn any form of prejudice, bigotry, or hate,” Clark continued. “I want to assure you that the Pleasant Hill Police Department is diligently investigating this incident to identify those responsible. We are committed to a swift resolution and holding the perpetrators accountable for their actions.”

The incident came amid a meteoric rise in antisemitism in the US, where antisemitic incidents — including assaults, vandalisms, and verbal attacks committed by both far left and far right agitators  — surged by over 330 percent percent between Oct. 7 and Dec. 7.

It was also not the only antisemitic vandalism to take place at a California public school this month. According to local media outlet KRON4, the Blach Intermediate School in Los Altos said that officials found several swastikas graffitied in the boys’ locker room.

According to data collected by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), 494 antisemitic incidents happened on K-12 campuses in 2022, a 49 percent increase from the previous year.

Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.